Much has been made about Meghan Markle’s name this year. As she pointed out to Mindy Kaling on her Netflix show, she’s a Sussex now, and her full title is Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Kaling didn’t really seem to care about all of this, but you know who did? Prince William. Earlier this week, it became public that Meghan has been using her HRH (Her Royal Highness) title privately. William is reportedly apoplectic about this and hoping to strip Harry and Meghan of their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles once and for all when he’s king. Peter Morgan, are you listening? It’s time to get another season of The Crown going.
Earlier this month, Meghan shared a screenshot of a tweet from Yulia Svyrydenko, the first deputy prime minister of Ukraine, to her Instagram Story. Meghan had previously posted about Harry returning from Ukraine with a treat for their children, to which Svyrydenko responded, “Your Royal Highness, I would like to express my sincere thanks for everything your family is doing for Ukraine.” This would be a totally normal interaction, had Svyrydenko not used the “Royal Highness” title.
A source claiming to be a friend of King Charles told the Daily Beast that it wasn’t Svyrydenko’s use of the title that ruffled feathers, but Meghan sharing it. “It’s outrageous. Every time you think they can’t make it worse, they make it worse,” the source said. “I’m sure the king’s first reaction will be dismay, but he simply doesn’t allow himself to get angry about things like this anymore.”
In the case of Svyrydenko’s tweet, it wasn’t technically Meghan using that title, so no one could get that upset. But that changed earlier this week, when Meghan appeared on IT Cosmetics founder Jamie Kern Lima’s podcast. During their conversation, Lima mentioned that Meghan had once dropped off a gift basket of ice cream and “homemade strawberry sauce” to her home. In the video version of the podcast, an image of the gift basket is shown, which includes a card that reads, “With the Compliments of HRH The Duchess of Sussex.”
Why is this a big deal, exactly? The drama surrounding Harry and Meghan’s titles goes back to 2020, when Harry and Meghan came to an agreement with the late Queen Elizabeth about leaving the royal family. The couple’s titles were initially bestowed upon them in 2018, when they got married. Part of their parting agreement, according to a statement released by Buckingham Palace at the time, was that “the Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.”
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To their credit, Harry and Meghan do not use their HRH titles publicly or commercially, but clearly, some of their usage has managed to make its way into the public sphere. A different source, this one a former courtier, told the Daily Beast that while King Charles might not want to fight about all this, William certainly does. “He loathes and despises Harry and Meghan with every bone in his body,” the source said. “He believes they have betrayed everything the family stands for and the idea that they are using their royal status as a calling card will enrage him.” This may seem like an outsize reaction to someone privately using a title on their own personal stationery, but it really is that deep for these people.
One friend of William’s even said that the future king is so ticked off, he’s now planning to strip his brother and sister-in-law of their titles once he’s on the throne. “Meghan using her HRH exposes how weak and enfeebled [Charles] is,” they said. “She knows he won’t do anything. There is no way King William will stand for this. The titles will simply be removed when he is king. A way will be found.”
Ominous, and also maybe impossible. If William really is jonesing to strip all of Harry and Meghan’s titles, he has an uphill battle ahead of him. The laws around removing a royal title are not well defined, and while some people think the monarch should be able to strip someone of their title, none of them have ever done that. If you marry into the royal family and then get divorced, you lose your title, but that’s about as far as it goes. In 2022, a bill was introduced into Parliament that would allow the king to remove titles, but it hasn’t gone anywhere.
That being said, if he’s as pissed off as his friends make him out to be, William might just do whatever he wants once he’s wearing the crown. Harry and Meghan could be officially banished to Montecito, forced to live out a life of putting flower sprinkles on everything and producing Netflix content. I think they’ll survive.
